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"It's grim," said Daniel Briones, president of the National Association of Catering Executives and catering director at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. He called the drop-off in business the worst since 2001, when the holidays unfolded in the shadow of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

For some companies, this is about appearances as much as money. No firm wants to be pilloried for plowing cash — in some cases, taxpayer dollars — into ice sculptures while workers fear for their jobs and shareholders for their investments.

"Even if they can afford it, nobody wants to be seen as being profligate," said New York restaurant magnate Danny Meyer. He said some big financial firms have canceled big catered year-end parties, but there is new demand for smaller gatherings in his restaurants' back rooms.

Some workplace experts warn that canceling a party can sap morale. But some employees say they don't mind having a more modest celebration in tough times.

"You don't want to be eating your steak and thinking that it could have been in your wallet instead," said Eric Bolesh, 29, who works at a North Carolina business-consulting firm.

One in five companies is scuttling or scaling down its year-end bash, according to the workplace consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Surveys by the catering executives group and the trade magazine Special Events found a majority of event planners are losing at least 10 percent of their corporate holiday business.

Larry Weaver, a Durham, N.C., comedian and booking agent who specializes in corporate events, said cancellations are nearing an unprecedented 20 percent.

"It's been devastating," Weaver said, noting that some of the entertainers he represents earn the bulk of their income during the holiday season.

Finance, construction, media and other companies — not to mention governments that rely on them for tax revenue — say the somber financial outlook is forcing a no-frills holiday season.

"In the current economic environment, it really is a case of just being careful with our spending," said American Express spokeswoman Joanna Lambert. The credit-card giant, which recently announced plans to cut 10 percent of its 65,000 employees, has even canceled next year's party.